Media Studies Islay

Just a wee update to highlight that past papers for all levels of Media Studies can be found on the SQA website here http://www.sqa.org.uk/pastpapers/findpastpaper.htm?subject=Media%20Studies

Please download these for practice purposes and to develop your awareness of what is expected of you in the exam.

Marking instructions for the papers can be found here http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/4399.html It is crucial that you look at these too so that you understand what the marker is looking for.

Have fun!

Have recently been enjoying checking out the mass of short films that are available on the BBC Film Network site. I would urge you to spend some time delving into the library that they have of up and coming new talent within British film. For example this short Dragonfly is so simple and effective, yet it really encapsulates so much about a young boy’s desire to escape the hardships of his homelife - I’m certain that one or two of you will be inspired by it. I also liked the short film Dog which is quite a dark animated tale of loss and comfort.

It just goes to show that we have so much talent in this country.

Your task: find a different short film on the site, share it with the class and blog about it.

Just a few pointers regarding your Media Production Unit. It’s great to see so many of you engaging with this aspect of the course and use your creativity and research skills to their potential. Am also pleased to see groups discussing the obstacles that they have encountered so far and that you are making tracks to overcome these - remember that everyone has a voice and you must listen to them!

Keep up the great work!

Your Brief:

Create an opening sequence to a film in the genre of thriller between 3 and 5 minutes.

• medium (film)
• purpose (entertainment)
• form (opening sequence)
• genre (thriller)
• target audience (teenagers 15 -19. ALSO remember that these videos will be put on my Vimeo page where parents, teachers, and general members of the public will be able to view them)
• length (no less than 3 minutes, no more than 5)
• deadline (end of March 2010)
• internal controls (eg group size, available resources, weather, locations, access to information)
• external controls (eg legal, regulatory and/or market controls). This is not really applicable for this production, but do think about organisations like the BBFC.

What I am looking for:

An effective opening which establishes the central narrative.

Continuity editing

Mise-en-scene that relates to the whole film (eg a character’s clothing, props, makeup)

Lighting

Effective and appropriate use of music

Use of thriller conventions (eg an enigma), especially film noir.

Good communication and negotiation skills

Use of technical terms

This is an absolutely wonderful site, full of key insights into what documentary filmmakers consider to be of value in their art. A wide range of documentary filmmakers give their opinions about the different strands of this genre and it all “comes from the horses mouth”, as it were! Here is the link to the site Capturing Reality

The site includes these topics:

Getting Started

Exploring the Genre

Planning and Preparation

Relationships

Truth, Perspective, and Ethics

The Shoot

Sound

Editing

Final Thoughts and Anecdotes

This is ’stolen’ from the great site AS and A2 Media Studies

These sites are great for establishing the relative success or failure of case study films at the box office. Remember that DVD sales at Amazon (their rankings for the film’s respective genres) is another indicator.

Try their search engine. They are great for statistics including box office stats., etc.
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org/weekendboxoffice

http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/distributionandexhibition

Another useful site for stats and info. is IMDB. See their left hand columns after finding your institution’s films. Search other parts of the site, too.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131729/business

Wikipedia has got to be a useful port of call for each part of your case study film and its institutions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boat_That_Rocked

Newspaper reviews are often crucial for discovering the reasons why a film succeeded or failed. Newspaper reviews are also a key source for finding out about box office statistics and comparisons with  other or previous films in the same genre:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2009/apr/07/richard-curtis-boat-that-rocked-box-office

http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/86395/the-boat-that-rocked.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-boat-that-rocked-15-1660783.html

Pearl and Dean - business section is really useful for statistics, target audiences, comparisons with films in the same genre, etc.
http://business.pearlanddean.com/